Detroit Pistols players on a basketball court

Why the Detroit Pistons chose AI to power their championship-level service

Detroit Pistons
Region
Americas
Company size
100–399
Industry
Sports & Entertainment
Products used
Customer Experience logo
AI Solutions logo
Key integrations
Salesforce integration logo
KEY METRICS
20%
daily work saved as call transcriptions are auto-integrated into Salesforce
30%
time savings for agents through RingCentral’s AI solutions
50%
of calls expected to be resolved RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR)

Overview

The Detroit Pistons faced significant operational friction following a move to a high-tech downtown facility, struggling with fragmented legacy systems. By partnering with RingCentral to implement an AI-first communications strategy, the organization consolidated its infrastructure and automated routine workflows. This transition has drastically improved response times and empowered staff to focus on high-value fan engagement.
We look at RingCentral as not only a communications vendor for our business, but a trusted AI business partner to help solve our communication needs.
Paul Rapier
Vice President of IT

About our customer

The Detroit Pistons, based in Detroit, Michigan, have been an inspiring fixture of professional sports since moving to the city in 1957. The organization has secured three NBA championships and remains a central pillar of the downtown Detroit sports district.

The challenge: Fragmented systems and physical barriers

Relocating the corporate headquarters to a new, high-tech facility in 2019 exposed deep-rooted flaws in a communications setup that had been built organically over 30 years. Employees across sales, HR, and finance struggled with a patchwork of incompatible tools that required constant manual maintenance and troubleshooting.
 
  • System Fragmentation: On-premises hardware was costly to maintain and lacked the flexibility to work across different locations.
  • Operational Friction: Onboarding new staff was difficult, and legacy tools for faxing and video were siloed across multiple vendors.
  • Lack of Mobility: The ticketing team lacked the necessary connectivity to remain responsive while moving throughout the Little Caesars Arena.

The solution and ROI: Deploying AI to ensure a championship-level fan experience

To streamline internal operations and elevate the fan experience, the Detroit Pistons implemented multiple AI-powered solutions on the RingCentral platform: RingCX, AI Receptionist (AIR), AI Virtual Assistant (AVA), AI Conversation Expert (ACE), and the RingCentral App Gallery. Deploying these RingCentral solutions led to measurable internal improvements on important metrics.
 
  • AIR cuts answer times from minutes to seconds and is projected to resolve 50% of all inbound fan inquiries without agent intervention.
  • RingCentral AI delivers a 30% time savings for agents, allowing the front office to improve issue resolution speeds and overall service quality.
  • ACE saves the team 20% of their weekly time by automatically building a searchable knowledge base within the company’s contact center.
  • RingCentral App Gallery drives a 20% reduction in daily manual work by automatically pushing post-call transcriptions and activity data directly into Salesforce.
RingEX AI Receptionist dashboard showing call resolution rates, total calls handled, and top unresolved questions.

What’s next for The Detroit Pistons

The organization is focused on expanding its knowledge base within the contact center to further optimize weekly workflows. By integrating advanced sentiment tools and AI-driven coaching, the IT leadership plans to continue refining the way staff interacts with a global fanbase. This ongoing digital evolution ensures that a franchise defined by its historic grit is now powered by the most sophisticated technology in the league.
To learn more about our customer, visit NBA Detroit Pistons.